Geezer Rock

Fridays, 4-6 pm

“Geezer Rock” is a weekly radio program that plays new music by geezers who rock. On
“Geezer Rock,” it’s the musicians who are the “oldies,” not the songs! Yep, we play all of your favorite “touch of gray” rock stars from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s who are still hitting thestages and putting out new albums of new rockin’ tunes. We’re talking about Joan Jett, Foghat, Randy Bachman, Neil Young, Robin Trower, Patti Smith, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Pat Benatar, Robert Plant, Jeff Beck, the Bangles, the New Riders, and many, many more who have not given up their guitars! Hey, you know they’ve gotta be good; they’ve had 30 or so years to practice.

When he was a teen, Jeff Lindholm let his dad talk him out of a radio DJ career. But Jeff persevered, and he’s been a college and community radio programmer, music librarian, and assistant station manager since 1977, at a half-dozen stations in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and Vermont. Jeff also formed a punk rock band with Rob Buck, later of 10,000 Maniacs, worked in a record store, was music editor of an underground newspaper, lead wilderness trips for troubled teens, and once was serenaded in the back of a limo by Tiny Tim. He currently hosts Geezer Rock, each week bringing the world the best new, 21st century tunes by geezers who rock!

Recent Shows:

May 8, 2015
Featured Geezers: Gang of Four

Let’s dig England’s Gang of Four: original punk rock’s iconoclasts and manifesto-ists reimagined as founding member, guitarist, and songwriter Andy Gill constructs a new band on the original principals for their new album, “What Happens Next.” In addition, Todd Rundgren goes all funky dance-pop on us with “Everybody” from his new album,“Global,” then we go all Detroit on you as Gov’t Mule covers Bob Seger’s “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” and Bob Seger, his own self, covers John Hiatt’s tale of vintage muscle cars in “Detroit Made,” while Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels lay down a romping live version of “Devil with a Blue Dress On.” All new, all made by geezers who rock.

April 24, 2015
Featured Geezer: Randy Bachman

He’s cut the band name down to just “Bachman” and the band itself down to just three
members, Randy himself, bassist Anna Ruddick, and drummer Dale Anne Brendan, but on the new album, “Heavy Blues,” Bachman still sounds, well, heavy. Momentous, actually (with a lovely balance of blues and rock). We share four tunes from the album, which features assists from the likes of Neil Young, Peter Frampton, Joe Bonamassa, and more. Plus we’ve got new tunes from Mark Knopfler, Gov’t Mule, Brian Wilson, and even the original Ringo! It’s all new music by geezers who rock!

April 17, 2015
Featured Geezer: Ringo Starr

He’s getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a solo artist, since he’s already in as a Beatle, so we honor Ringo by playing a bunch of tunes from his new album, “Postcards from Paradise.” Paradise, indeed. We also have some new heavy blues music from Randy Bachman (with help from Neil Young, Peter Frampton and more) and something a bit more lilting by Mark Knopfler. Plus a sunny new song from Brian Wilson as well, to mark the arrival of spring. I hope you enjoy it.

March 27, 2015

Featured Geezer: Eric Clapton
We offer a bit of birthday gusto to Eric Clapton, who turned 70 the week this show ran, on March 30th! To celebrate, we play several Eric tunes, including turns with his pals J.J. Cale and Johnny Winter. Plus we spread a few rumors (which turned out to be true) about the Grateful Dead adding more “Fare Thee Well” farewell concerts, share a few Dead cover songs by Levon Helm and the New Riders, and teach you how to do the Hadacol boogie (kids, don’t try this at home)!

March 20, 2015

Featured Geezer: Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter’s posthumous Grammy Award win for his “Step Back” album certainly
was bittersweet, but, as his producer/bandleader Paul Nelson reveals in his Geezer Rock
interview this week, Winter certainly had the sense that his album was worthy. And it
was. Nelson talks about recording the album, how he helped Johnny overcome health and
substance abuse problems, and the upcoming Winter movie. We also spin some tunes
from the disk, along with a whole two hours of blues wailing: new tunes from the
Yardbirds, Foghat, Maria Muldaur, and even Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings.

March 13, 2015

Featured Geezer: Dave Mason
This week we bring you the first in a continuing series of live concert reviews, a date
from Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam tour, from Iowa correspondent Andy Bargerstock, plus a
listen to a few tunes from Dave’s new album, “Future’s Past.” Plus a heads-up on this
summer’s Joan Jett/Heart tour, news on God’s 70th birthday party (well, Eric Clapton’s,
but you know what they say . . .), and a wide selection of happy, upbeat, spring-ish music
from the Doobie Brothers, John Fogerty, Eric Burdon, the Bangles and more.

March 6, 2015

Gospel-blues rockers the Holmes Brothers are the Featured Geezers on this week’s show, in part as a memorial to the band’s drummer, Popsy Dixon, who passed away in January, and in part because they’re an inspiring band. We’ll share four tunes by Dixon and Sherman and Wendell Holmes from their latest album, Brotherhood. The show also includes tunes from Alice Cooper and Paul McCartney and news about their upcoming collaboration with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and actor/guitarist Johnny Depp, plus more musical confabulations.

February 6, 2015

This week’s show features Featured Geezers Pink Floyd and the band’s purported final album, The Endless River. Extant members Nick Mason and David Gilmour constructed the overwhelmingly instrumental album in part as a memorial to the late Rick Wright, the band’s keyboard player, and in part as the group’s recorded capstone. They used tunes recorded with Wright prior to his passing, songs originally intended for a project titled The Big Spliff. The show also includes reggae from Jeff Beck with Toots and the Maytals, Heart covering Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” and much more.

November 14, 2014

Our Geezer Feature this week focuses on the once (and future?) Kink Dave Davies—the guitarist in the equation—and his new album, Rippin’ Up Time, which features assistance from his son, Russell (sorry, no Ray). The songs, says Dave, are about “a man’s reflections of the past, his fears, anxieties, and optimism about the present and hopeful expectation about the future.” All with Davies’ signature fuzzy guitar sound.

November 7, 2014

This week’s Featured Geezer, Johnny Marr, has just released Playland, only his second solo album. Marr’s been working with a wide variety of collaborators since leaving the Smiths, his major claim to fame, in the late ’80s. Here’s your chance to check out a variety of cuts from his album, songs that deliver a strong blend of Smiths-ian angst and power pop bounce.

October 31, 2014

With Featured Geezer Elvin Bishop, featuring songs from his new album Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, with special guest harmonicist Charlie Musselwhite. Plus two all-new bands of geezers with first albums out now: the punkish Satisfactors from New Jersey and the Skynyrd-ish Dark Horse Flyer from Florida. And more new music by geezers who rock!

October 24, 2014

With 10,000 Maniacs’ bassist Steve Gustafson, who talks about the band’s new album, “Twice Told Tales,” a set of folksongs from the British Isles, and spins some cuts from the not-yet-released disk, plus live music by Jethro Tull, Foghat, and the Guess Who. It’s a special Fall Pledge Drive show! Please support WGDR/WGDH community radio year ‘round!